Protecting Wildlife

WCN SUPPORTS CONSERVATIONISTS WHO ENSURE WILDLIFE AND PEOPLE COEXIST AND THRIVE

The presence of wildlife in our world is a treasure, one that cannot be reclaimed if it disappears.

Without wildlife our forests and grasslands, mountains and oceans are empty. Without wildlife, economies suffer and poverty in local communities persists. We need wildlife to sustain a healthy and beautiful planet. A future without wildlife is no future at all.

This is why our seventeen Conservation Partners and the grantees of our Crisis and Recovery Funds devote their lives to protecting wildlife on the frontlines.

A Network of World Class Conservation Partners

Never underestimate what a few committed individuals can do for a threatened species.

Saving wildlife requires a collaborative spirit, long term commitment to work in remote places, and the courage to pioneer new approaches. We believe that investing in the individuals who are willing to take on these challenges is the best hope for wildlife. At WCN we find the best of these “conservation entrepreneurs” and, after a rigorous vetting process, invite a select few to receive in-depth, ongoing support by joining our Network of Conservation Partners.

Please learn more about these incredible conservationists and their efforts to save wildlife.

100% of designated donations to the programs below go directly to the field with no overhead.

WCN and our Partners believe that conservation is as much about helping people as it is about helping wildlife. Though they protect different kinds of species across different landscapes, our Conservation Partners all believe that local people who live among wildlife will determine the future of these animals and are at the heart of wildlife conservation solutions. Our Partners work with communities to understand their needs and jointly develop solutions to allow people and endangered animals to coexist together and thrive.

Crisis and Recovery Funds

Crisis and Recovery Funds invest in a wide breadth of projects aimed at protecting a threatened species beyond a singular country and across its entire habitat. The Funds focus on collaboration and encourage everyone—from nonprofits, to conservationists, to philanthropists—to work together to save wildlife. Crisis and Recovery Funds identify and vet the best ideas from any institution, regardless of their size or stature, that are designed to stop a crisis and recover wildlife populations.

100% of donations to the Elephant Crisis Fund and Lion Recovery Fund go directly to the field, with zero overhead.

Africa’s elephants could disappear from much of the wild within a generation.

A devastating poaching epidemic is threatening these iconic creatures. Driving the killing is a complex, international ivory trade that thrives on poverty, corruption, and greed.

Scientists, conservation organizations, and governments have united behind a common strategy to end this crisis. We must:

Stop the Killing of Elephants
Stop the Trafficking of Ivory
Stop Ivory Demand

The Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF) was created by Save the Elephants and WCN to fuel this coalition—supporting the best ideas to end the ivory crisis, not a single institution. The ECF fosters collaboration, and delivers rapid impact on the ground. Since its inception, the ECF has raised $19 million and has funded over 220 projects across 33 countries to stop elephant poaching and the trafficking and demand for ivory.

Lions are in crisis. In just 25 years, lion populations have declined by half.

But, lions can return.

WCN launched the Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) in 2017 in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. This innovative Fund serves as an additional and separate WCN investment vehicle for range-wide lion conservation, alongside the courageous, innovative, impactful lion conservation work of our Network Partners Ewaso Lions and Niassa Lion Project who work tirelessly on-the-ground with communities to reduce human-lion conflict, and to protect and manage lion landscapes.

The Lion Recovery Fund invests in the most innovative and effective projects across Africa aimed at recovering lions—backing several key tactics such as supporting the parks and reserves that serve as lion strongholds and promoting coexistence so that people can live alongside and benefit from lions.

The LRF is moving swiftly to convene conservationists and other institutions to address the threats to lions and ensure the King of Beasts can thrive across Africa.

Elephant Crisis Fund

Africa’s elephants could disappear from much of the wild within a generation. A devastating poaching epidemic is threatening these iconic creatures. Driving the killing is a complex, international ivory trade...

Lion Recovery Fund

Lions are in crisis. In just 25 years, lion populations have declined by half. But, lions can return. WCN launched the Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) in 2017 in partnership with...

Elephant Crisis Fund

Africa’s elephants could disappear from much of the wild within a generation.

A devastating poaching epidemic is threatening these iconic creatures. Driving the killing is a complex, international ivory trade that thrives on poverty, corruption, and greed.

Scientists, conservation organizations, and governments have united behind a common strategy to end this crisis. We must:

Stop the Killing of Elephants
Stop the Trafficking of Ivory
Stop Ivory Demand

The Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF) was created by Save the Elephants and WCN to fuel this coalition—supporting the best ideas to end the ivory crisis, not a single institution. The ECF fosters collaboration, and delivers rapid impact on the ground. Since its inception, the ECF has raised $19 million and has funded over 220 projects across 33 countries to stop elephant poaching and the trafficking and demand for ivory.

Lion Recovery Fund

Lions are in crisis. In just 25 years, lion populations have declined by half.

But, lions can return.

WCN launched the Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) in 2017 in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. This innovative Fund serves as an additional and separate WCN investment vehicle for range-wide lion conservation, alongside the courageous, innovative, impactful lion conservation work of our Network Partners Ewaso Lions and Niassa Lion Project who work tirelessly on-the-ground with communities to reduce human-lion conflict, and to protect and manage lion landscapes.

The Lion Recovery Fund invests in the most innovative and effective projects across Africa aimed at recovering lions—backing several key tactics such as supporting the parks and reserves that serve as lion strongholds and promoting coexistence so that people can live alongside and benefit from lions.

The LRF is moving swiftly to convene conservationists and other institutions to address the threats to lions and ensure the King of Beasts can thrive across Africa.

Elephant Crisis Fund

Learn how the Elephant Crisis Fund is helping end the ivory poaching crisis. Film narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Lion Recovery Fund

Learn why lions are in trouble and what we can do to help them recover. Film narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio.

$18MFill 1Created with Sketch.

Amount raised to-date for the Elephant Crisis Fund to stop the ivory crisis.

$4MFill 1Created with Sketch.

Amount raised to-date for the Lion Recovery Fund to recover lions in Africa.

Wildlife Crime Prevention's Luwi Nguluka Talks at Expo

The illegal bushmeat trade is the single greatest threat to wildlife in Zambia. Luwi Nguluka shares how the Wildlife Crime Prevention Project—a grantee of Lion Recovery Fund—launched a public awareness campaign, This is Not a Game, with the goal of ending this tragic practice.

Get a Closer Look

Crisis and Recovery Funds Reporting

The following are the most recent Elephant Crisis Fund and Lion Recovery Fund reports; they offer supporters greater insight into the impact their investments are having. Get a closer look at the effective projects supported by these Funds and the incredible grantees working to stop the ivory crisis and bring lions back to Africa.

Accomplishing more by working together

We recognize that the issues we work on are complex and require a variety of approaches. We accomplish so much more when we work together, so we strive for open collaboration with conservationists outside of our Network of partners.